Ring



J 1952 c. c. TARTER ET AL RING 7 Filed Dec. 27, 1946 r W7C. I a i 1 a; w 5 5 a Q? 1 1c ,fii 1 3 Patented Jan. 8, 1952 RING Christopher '01. Tarter and Hyman S. Licht, Los Angeles, Calif assignors of thirty per cent to Robert M. Kaufman, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application December 27, 1946, Serial No. 718,758

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to rings of that type which are worn on the fingers of a hand and re-' fers to that particular kind which is provided with hinged arcuate sections releasably fastened together in closed position. More particularly our improvement provides a ring which has a front arcuate section hinged and releasably fastened on the .front shoulders of a body arcuate section where the least amount of wear of the ring occurs.

The present invention contemplates a finger ring having hinged sections which permit the ring to be made of suitable diameter to embrace the finger on which it is worn securely back of a knuckle joint so as to prevent the ring from being unintentionally removed by the ordinary method of sliding off of the finger. An object of the invention therefore is, to prevent a. ring when worn, from turning on the finger, whereby the ornamentation such as inscriptions, jewels, studs, etc. on the front portion of the ring are retained by the ring in normal exposed position on the back of the finger which bears the ring.

Another object is to prevent the rin from unintentionally slipping off of the finger and being lost.

Another object is to reduce wear of the ring.

Another object is to provide means by which the hinged sections of the ring are automatically locked when closed together and released only when intended.

Another object is to provide simple and effective construction which permits manufacture and fabrication of the parts of the ring by a minimum of time, labor and expense.

Another object is the production of a ring of its kind having maximum simplicity of construction and increased effectiveness in use.

Among further objects is the production of a ring which is strong in construction and which eliminates all previous objections.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away and in section of a ring which is constructed in accordance with our improvements and showing the same when its hinged arcuate sections are closed; Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan of the spring unit when removed from the opening or receptacle in the front section of the ring, said view being taken on line 33 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an end view, taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 1 of the socket portion of the hinged front arcuate section of the ring sections of thering are engaged and locked together; Fig. 6 is a plan of the corresponding end portion of the back arcuate section of the ring which is adapted to be secured to the abutting end portion shown in Fig. 5; Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66' of Fig. 1, at slightly increased scale; and Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the latch showing an alternative construction of hand engaging means.

In the drawings, A and B designate a pair of front and body arcuate sections of our improved ring. The body section has a pair of forwardly extending supporting shoulders It and II. The front section A is joined by abutting ends to the forward shoulder portions of the body section and therefore occupies that portion of the ring which receives the least amount of wear. The members of one pair of abutting portions of the ring are joined by a lap joint I2 and hinged together by the pintle l3. The members of the opposite pair of contiguous end abutting portions of the ring are releasably secured in rigidly enclosed position as shown in Fig. 1, by the latch [4. This latch is tiltingly mounted in a chamber I5 in the free end portion of the front arcuate section A by the pintle Hi.

The work end of the latch projects longitudinally in the free end portion of the front section of the ring and is formed with a catch shoulder H. The opposite inwardly projecting end portion of the latch is formed with a power arm l8 which is engaged by the free loop portion of a spring [9. This spring normally tends to tilt the latch with its shoulder I! engaged with a corresponding shoulder 20 on the catch 2 l. The catch projects rigidly and longitudinally from the abutting end portion of the ring section B so that when the front and body sections of the ring are closed the latch automatically locks thetwo ring sections together. The catch 2| telescopes into a closely fitting end passageway 22 (Fig. 5), in the front section A when the sections are closed so as to form a stability connection when the sections are locked together.

The loop spring I9 is held in a curved yoke frame 25 which is seated in the chamber l5 and is held tightly therein as shown with the loop end pressing outwardly against the latch actuating member IS. The arms of the spring loop are secured by the pair of studs 26 on the inner sides of the pair of side walls of the yoke frame and the portions of the arms between their ends are held under tension by the pair of studs 21 so as to urge the forward end of the loop radially outwardly against the actuating power arm l8 as above described. The yoke frame 25 and the rearward end portion of the latch are enclosed and sealed in the chamber l5 by suitable means such for illustration as by an arcuate studded or other ornamental display member C which together with the frame 25 are suitably secured to the front'zarcuatei section A, such for illustration as by soldering, brazing or welding. The latch actuating member I8 is normally urged radially outwardly by the spring I9 against the underside of the display member C and thereby tends to retain the outer surface of the latch flush and even with the outer surfaces ofithe sections A and B. The end contact surfaces ofthe shoulder portions of the latch l4 and catch 2| are'beveled in substantially corresponding direction so as to guide and trip the latch into engagement by snap action automatically when the sections Awand' B are closed together.

When thus locked together the sections A- and B may be released and swung 1 apart 'to permit removal of the ring from or'application ofthe ring to the finger of the hand through engaging the latch in thenotch or indenture 24; :by-the finger or thumbnail or'by any suitable instrument, and by pushing inwardly,'whereby the within the spirit of the" invention andthe-scope of the claims following:

We claim:

A finger ring having an arcuate body section, an arcuate front section, said sections having abutting ends forming a circular band and having a lap joint and hinge connection between a pair of the adjacent end portions thereof, said front section having a longitudinal chamber in itsbody opening outwardly; a catch on the free end of said body section projecting longitudinally into. said chamber, a display member closed on the perimeter of said arcuate front section over said chamber, a latch tiltingly mounted in the outer end portion of said chamber with its free end portion adapted to engage said catch and lock said sections-when closed together, a frame unit nested longitudinally in and conforming with the walls ofsaid-chamber, and a loop spring mounted on said frame and having an end held under tension by said frame in engagement pressing against the latch and cause the latter to releasably engage said i latch when" said :ring' sections are closed, said latchzhaving a'portion'exposd on the surface of said'front' section by which it can beactuated' to release and permit the front section and said display memberswinging outwardly on said hinge connection.

CHRISTOPHER C. TARTER.

HYMAN S. LICHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references'are of record in'the file of this patent:

UNITED STAT-ES PATENTS Number Name Date 945,107 Moody =Jan. 4, l910 1,195,244 Lidzbarsky Aug;' 22, 1916 1,747,586 Joel Feb. 18,1930

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 11,413 Great Britain Oct. 2, 1902 

